1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting a messages between mobile terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile terminals provide a variety of services in addition to a calling service. For example, mobile terminals allow a user to access a message transmission service to send and receive text or multimedia messages, access the Internet, play games, download ring tones, etc. The message transmission service includes a SMS (short message service) for transmitting text data that is within 80 bytes, for example. The message transmission service also includes a MMS (Multimedia Message Service) for transmitting music, images, movies, etc. The message being transmitted and received may also be a combination of the SMS and MMS type messages. Thus, using the message transmission service, the user can create messages using the keys provided on the mobile terminal and then transmit the message to another party.
However, in the related art transmission method, the message transmission service is automatically terminated when a specific event occurs such as the user closing a folder of the mobile terminal while the message is being transmitted. The same is true with respect to a flipping closed a flip type terminal or sliding closed a sliding type terminal. For example, after the user initiates transmission of a SMS message and closes the mobile terminal before transmission of the SMS message is completed, the SMS message transmission is terminated (i.e., disrupted prior to completion).
Thus, in the related art method, the user must wait for the corresponding message to be completely transmitted before he or she closes the terminal. Thus, if the folder is inadvertently closed while the message is being transmitted, the user must recreate the message. This problem is more serious for MMS type messages. In more detail, the MMS type message typically includes more data than the SMS type message. Therefore, when a user transmits an MMS type message, he or she must keep the mobile terminal open for a longer time to complete transmission of the MMS.